Yueji Aguri
Yueji Aguri, simply called Yueji by most, is a Noir Class student of Eclipse Academy, wherein he had officially became a First Year in the year P.B 100. He is the only son of the Violet Shadow's assassins, Shisuke and Mamori Aguri, and is the Vessel of the Spirit, Joker. While only a minor character in the canon storyline, he played a more important role in various arcs of Side Stories, and served as one of the main protagonists of the long-hiatus novel Eclipse Academy: Cantabile Birth. Appearance Yueji is a very lean, fair-skinned teenage boy with a slightly long purple hair that usually reached down to the back of his neck. His eyes are soft red in colour, depicted as purple in some artwork. However, when possessed by Joker, the sclerae will turn pitch black, and the irises will change into a yellowish gold colour. This can happen to either one or both of his eyes, depending on the level of control Joker has on him. When possessed, a pair of tattoo like markings will appear on both sides of face, reaching from underneath his eyes downwards to his cheeks. These tattoos resembled black teardrops flowing down his face. Although these markings are usually absent in most media, they are mostly featured in stories and in his character database. His standard outfit differs as the story progresses. During his initial appearance. he wore a standard Eclipse Academy uniform with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, over his white long-sleeve-shirt, and pair of black trousers, and dark blue or black shoes. He had a white scarf wrapped around his neck, which he even wears with his casual attire; a white hoodie with the same trousers and shoes he wears with his uniform. He has either one or two pouches strapped to his belt, which are used to store sidearms, medicines, and his Fatum Aleator Cards. In some works he is also depicted wearing a hairclip on the left side of his hair, though it was removed in later arts. His second attire was almost entirely different than the first. Instead of a standard-issued uniform, he now wears a customized one that resembled a tailcoat than a jacket. This uniform appears to made of a somewhat thicker, yet lighter type of fabric. The uniform features a long left sleeve and a shortened right sleeve, giving it a slightly asymmetrical appearance. It also has a longer skirt that entirely covers the back and sides of his thighs. Underneath the uniform, he wears a blue-colored hoodie with long sleeves. His hands are now covered in a pair of black fingerless gloves, and the white scarf he had wore was replaced with a dark grey one. To secure his pouches, Yueji replaced the leather belt with a piece of beige cloth that is wrapped tightly around his waist and uniform. Unlike previously, he prefers to carry one pouch instead of one, and this pouch appears to be slightly larger than the old ones, allowing additional storage space. Another one of the features notable in his appearance, are the pair of earrings on his ears. Each earring consists of three pieces of thin gold plates of different sizes, connected to a gold ring that coils around Yueji's ear. Most characters will likely mistaken them to be a streak of Yueji's own hair, due to the hair that's covering part of his ears. Which is why, in some artworks, Yueji is depicted having golden hair streaks cascading along his ears instead of wearring earrings. Personality During his early months in Eclipse Academy, Yueji was an aloof, cold and a deadpan of a boy. However, he could still show some courtesy and modesty to others, apologizing for any mistakes that he (or Joker) had done. He also display a degree of respect towards others, especially to those whose skills he admired, particularly Wilhelmina Fang. After the Optake Incident that had befallen Eclipse Academy, his personality took a drastic, yet positive turn. He began to appreciate his friends more, and is willing to go to a great length to ensure their safety. Due to being raised by a cruel father, and lack the presence of a mother in his childhood, Yueji is unable to unable to understand the concept of love, which sometimes brought himself into a problematic relationship with his love interest and current girlfriend, Yoshizawa Ayumi. It is due to the lack of a proper family figure, Yueji sometimes considered Joker as a 'better father than his own', despite most the time getting irritated by the Spirit's obnoxious, and sometimes disgusting antics. He also treated Yuei as if she was his little sister, and even considered Will as an ideal mother figure. Fitting his personality, Yueji is not easily entertained as he is not fond of jokes or games, and is rarely seen laughing, or even smiling. However, he does have a sort of dry sense of humour, including cynical remarks and using sarcastic tones while talking, though these form of comments are usually made to criticize Joker's behavior, or in some cases, his closer friends. Despite being hard to entertain, Yueji appreciates people that tried to make him laugh, giving them words of support and expressing his gratitude, though most people did not find his support quite encouraging due to his tone of voice. After the Day of the Black Snow incident, Yueji had developed his sense of humor, as he could now enjoy certain jokes and is even seen laughing to it. Also, he does develop some sense of curiosity towards fun games played by the other students, and would sometimes participate in these games for the sake of learning, though most of the time he joins out of Joker's 'forced persuasion'. Strangely, Yueji seemed to have a very low to no tolerance towards sweet and sugary food. His body's reaction towards this is so great, that a single bite of something sweet will cause his stomach to churn, with more than that could even lead to an immediate diarrhea. Yueji find this to be troublesome due to Joker's habit of taking sugary food whenever the latter possessed the former. Whether the problem is due to his stomach's unfamiliarity towards such substance or simply an allergic reaction, is unknown. Yueji is also a studious and diligent student. He would usually spend most of his after class hours revising in the library or practicing in the woods behind the Academy. He is shown to be quite knowledgeable, able to identify nearly most creatures he encounter, together with their traits and weaknesses. He can also speak both Standard and Elvish fluently, and is able to understand Spiritus with the help of Joker. Even for an antisocial boy, Yueji still possess a degree of social grace and could display good social manners, though this would eventually be ruined by Joker's shenanigans. Abilities and Fighting Style *Strength: 3/10 *Vitality: 6/10 *Agility: 8/10 *Magic:4/10 *Spirit: 7/10 *Intelligence: 7/10 Yueji is considerably one of the weakest fighters in terms of raw physical strength. His punches and kicks, despite being able a knock back a regular adult human, was relatively weak against seasoned opponents. He had once sore his own hand while trying to punch a Seedling Snatchez in the face, and had even severely injured his leg after blocking a direct charge from a Mr. Bolala, a low rank monster. This showed that, in addition to his poor strength, his physical durability is very low, but he does have a great amount of stamina. His father, Shisuke Aguri, had said that Yueji, like him, was 'unfortunately cursed with a frail form by birth', meaning that his feeble physique could possibly be a genetic heritage. Even so, he is able to withstand a succession of hits that would usually brought down a regular person, though this is most probably because of his strong willpower. For his poor physical power and defense, Yueji compensate for speed and strategy. As mentioned before, he possesses good stamina, making him a good sprinter, and allowing him to perform various acrobatic feats. He has impressive reflexes and speed, able to react to something with great percision at the same time evading with swift movements. When not compared to those who has their speed enhanced via magic and equipment, Yueji is considered as one of the fastest fighters in the Academy. He can instantly devise variants of strategies through simply observing an enemy's behaviour in a short time. Occasionally, he, together with Joker's help, are able to outsmart even the most experienced of opponents with strange, but effective tactics. Even so, he has poor coordination when it comes to teamwork, but he still can thought out plans which involves additional numbers, though he is not a good strategist when compared to other individuals. Through detailed observation on allies and enemies alike, Yueji could also mimic or at least incorporate their techniques into his own, as seen when he created the Jester Steps through observing Will's Flash Steps, and the Noxium Tormento through Sage's Blade and Needle Technique. He even managed to develop his scythe-wielding technique by simply mirroring the combos of the video game he plays. Although not a proficient user of martial arts, Yueji knows the basic techniques Kyusho Jitsu, or Pressure Point Strikes. With his speed and accuracy, he is able to utilize the deadly art effectively against weaker opponents, knocking them out before they could even react. He is rarely seen applying this technique in a fight, as his strikes are too weak to affect the nerve of a stronger opponent. Yueji is proficient in utilizing blades, both as melee and throwing weapons. Prior to obtaining the Kikillheim, they served as his primary weapons. In close quarters, Yueji would use a pair of daggers, both held in reverse grips. The size of the weapon, added with his speed, grants him a higher rate of mobility in combat in return for the very poor reach of the blades. Even with the short blades, Yueji can skillfully parry attacks from small to medium-sized weapons, but he has difficulty in blocking blows from heavy weapons such as greatswords due to his weak physique. Yueji's basic strategy while utilizing daggers would involve dodging an opponent's attack,at the same time dealing swift strikes at any possible openings, a basic hit-and-dodge technique. He can also throw knives with good accuracy, but still he is rarely able to hit a target that is moving in a great distance, showing that he may not be that skillful enough in using them as projectiles. The knives that he used for throwing possess short handles and arrow-shaped blade in contrast to the ones he used for close quarters, which possess long handles and curved blades. The shape of the throwing knives increase the acceleration and penetration power of the blades, making them deadly should they struck a soft-armored target. After enrolling into Eclipse Academy, Yueji came to realize that his skills at the moment were outmatched by the growing threat of the Monsters and Daemons he had to face. Thus, he started to develop a mastery over a new weapon and fighting style, and obtained a new, more effective main armament; the Kikikillheim scythe, which Joker had created together with the Fool's Armor (unnamed armor in the RP) with his own spiritual energy. (In the novel however, Yueji obtained the scythe after his Fatum Aleator cards responded to an antique scythe he stumbled upon at a weapon's store, creating the Death's Blade card that he used to conjure the weapon.) Even with the length of the shaft and the size of its blade, the Kikikillheim is incredibly light. Yueji, who has a very weak physique, was able to wield the weapon fluidly. He could delivery a flurry of slashes within seconds, and moved swiftly around with the weapon in his hands. In some instances, he could swirl the weapon easily with one hand, and jumped high into the air while holding the scythe. The Kikikillheim is extremely sharp, as Yueji could cleanly slice a light-armoured creature in half, and one time, he was able to cut through a steel lamp post. He also appeared to be ambidextrous while using the Kikikillheim, able wield it one-handed with either hands, effectively. It is unknown to whether the weapon being feathery is because of it being an enchanted equipment, or the metal used to construct the scythe is simply light and sturdy. The primary source for his extraordinary abilities is the Spirit that resides within him, Joker. While Yueji possess speed and cunning, Joker grants him the magical prowess in which he initially never had. As an ESPer, Yueji was unable to learn most magics and enchantments, and he was not born with any arcane abilities. Through becoming a Vessel of a Spirit, his body's resistance towards magical attacks had slightly increased, and allows him to use the Fatum Aleator Cards which Joker had given to him. Most of his techniques require him to be in a stable synergy with the Spirit, most notably are his signature Jester Steps and Noxium Tormento. With the Spirit Amplifier, given by Vyron Titanus, Yueji can further amplify his synchronization rate with Joker, giving him the ability to launch more powerful attacks, at the same time granting him an improved battle armour, dubbed as the Jester Emperor Armor. Overall, Joker acts as both his primary strength, and his greatest weakness. If his connection with the Spirit would be severed, even temporarily, he could be thrown into a serious disadvantage, as both his armour and the Kikikillheim, as well as his Fatum Aleator Cards required Joker's presence to be used. Yueji's techniques and the method of how he used his skills differs greatly between the RP and the Novel. In Cantabile Birth and its continuation, Yueji would used the Fatum Aleator's different 'hand combos' to launch his attacks, including casting his signature techniques. Example, while Yueji simply created the Jester Steps through observing Will's Flash Steps in the RP; in the novel, however, he required the Flush Hand Combo of the Priestess' Echo, Hierophant's Enlightenment, Lovers' Resonance, Chariot's Haste and Moon's Illusion cards, together with a stable synchronization with Joker (just like the RP), in order to use the Jester Steps. Main Article: Fatum Aleator Trivia *Culture-wise, the name Yueji Aguri is a mixture of both Chinese and Japanese words, respectively. **The word Yueji may bring different meanings in the traditional Chinese language, depending on the characters and tones. Yuè jì (月季) literally is the Chinese name for the rosa chinensis, popularly known as the China Rose, a flower that natively grows in the Soutwest Provinces of China. Yuè jí (越級) means to "skip a grade", or "bypass ranks". It also means "to go over the head of one's boss", which symbolizes Yueji's attempt to 'become a better person' than his father, whose also his 'boss' (the Guildmaster of the Violet Shadow). **The word Aguri (Hiragana: あぐり), means "last daughter" in Japanese. Ironically, Yueji is a male. **Even more ironic, is that Yueji Aguri could be roughly translated as "Last Daughter of China Rose", which can be considered a 'feminine' phrase. * Although described as a studious individual, Yueji could sometimes be seen playing video games in his room, specifically portable game consoles. Strangely enough, he did not do this through Joker possessing him. *A possible reason for him playing video games is that he used it as a medium to learn new fighting styles and techniques. He had admitted to have learned wielding his scythe by copying the fighting patterns of one of his video game characters. **Judging from how he described these games, and the techniques he used with his Kikikillheim it is possible that one of games he played is the God Eater series, particularly God Eater 2 or its Burst spin-off. The console that he used also looked vaguely familiar to the famous PlayStation Vita device. *Yueji is one of many characters in the Eclipse Academy universe to possess black sclerae in their eyes (when possessed by Joker). It is unknown to whether there is a specific factor for them to possess such characteristics. *Yueji is also one of the few characters whose family member served as the antagonist in their respective stories. The others that are notable are Wilhelmina Fang and Vyron Titanus. *The pigment of Yueji's hair colour is inherited from his mother. **Both are given the nickname 'eggplant' by at least one of their allies. *He could regularly be seen eating breads, though it is unsure if bread is his favourite food. *In his initial artwork, Yueji is portrayed to have dark blue hair, although it was never mentioned in any other media afterwards, drawn or written. **As a 'general OC' of his owner, he is sometimes drawn with blue hair. *In his earliest character description, he is told to have originated from Gloria. This is never mentioned in the story. *Yueji is greatly attracted to gold, and could slightly be mesmerized, even hypnotized, under its presence. Ironically, the hair of his love interest, Yoshizawa Ayumi, is silver, the counterpart of gold. *Yueji is the only member of the Tattoo Trio that can be seen without his face tattoos, as they only appear when he is possessed by Joker. *During his time as an assassin, Yueji has a total of 27 confirmed kills, and has completed 11 missions, with non have been done in solo. *Although shown to be ambidexterous in wielding his weapons, Yueji is actually right-handed. *Yueji utilizing the Fatum Aleator Cards, which possessed both the theme of the Major Arcana Tarots and Playing cards, is a nod to the Persona franchise's summoned beings of the same name, and the Rouze Cards from Kamen Rider Blade. *Yueji is one of the few Eclipse Academy OCs to have his 'owner' and 'regular user' being two different individuals. *All of his Profile Artwork are drawn by his owner, Nier. Gallery Yueji First Ver.jpg|The First Profile Artwork of Yueji. Notice that his hair is blue instead of the usual purple. 11908081_1014843921889674_612478936_n.jpg|2nd Profile Artwork of Yueji. 11920378_1014843911889675_734543185_n.jpg|Yueji with his hair cut short. 11908290_1014843898556343_157048109_n.jpg|3rd Profile Artwork of Yueji, with his purple hair given a slightly lighter shade than usual.